BASE LOCATION: Ottawa preferred; Calgary considered
REPORTS TO: President, DNG Defence
About DNG Defence
Des Nedhe Group Defence (DNG Defence), part of the English River First Nation-owned Des Nedhe Group, is a leading Indigenous-led developer and delivery partner in Canada's defence and security sector. We advance a complex portfolio of some of Canada's largest defence and security programs across naval capability, defence infrastructure, sovereign industrial capacity and critical infrastructure. We develop major projects and partnerships, screen investments, acquire and integrate capabilities, and carry commitments from strategy and capture into execution and sustainment.
The opportunity
Lead enterprise-wide growth spanning major programs, corporate development, partnerships, investments and government engagement. This senior, hands-on role requires independent judgment, trusted federal relationships and the ability to originate opportunities, shape acquisitions and capture campaigns, speak for DNG Defence and remain accountable after award or close. You will work directly with the President in a high-tempo environment.
What you will own
Federal government relationships and growth strategy
- Build enduring federal relationships. Maintain senior, active relationships across DND/CAF, the Defence Investment Agency, PSPC and federal policy stakeholders; convert engagement into opportunities.
- Shape the growth agenda. Track defence budgets, procurements, sovereignty priorities, funding and allied markets; prioritize programs, investments and partnerships.
- Represent the enterprise. Lead government briefings, conference panels and industry meetings; build credibility with senior officials, primes and investors.
Corporate development, investment and capability acquisition
- Originate strategic investments. Identify acquisition targets, technology businesses, industrial assets and joint ventures that strengthen the DNG Defence portfolio.
- Lead disciplined deal screening. Develop investment theses, screening analyses, valuations and business cases; coordinate commercial, financial, technical, legal and regulatory diligence.
- Turn transactions into capability. Negotiate investments, acquisitions and partnerships through internal approvals; partner with operating leaders to integrate capabilities and realize synergies.
Major-program capture and partnership development
- Own major-program capture. Lead qualification, competitor analysis, bid/no-bid decisions, customer strategy, teaming, RFI/RFP submissions, negotiations and pursuit economics for major defence programs.
- Build strategic partner ecosystems. Develop long-term alliances with Canadian and allied primes, First Nations, investors, technology providers and delivery partners.
- Connect ITB policy to strategy. Work with prime ITB and Value Proposition (VP) teams and DNG leads to shape Canadian supply-chain, Indigenous and sovereign-capability opportunities.
Post-award execution, integration and leadership
- Own the transition to delivery. Transition awards and completed transactions to execution with clear scope, commercial terms, partner commitments, risks and capture assumptions; remain actively involved.
- Learn from actual performance. Review delivery results, partner performance and client feedback with program leads; update future capture strategies, partnerships and transactions.
- Build for scale. Maintain a pipeline of programs, partners and investments; coordinate policy, operations, finance, legal and ITB stakeholders and develop a lean growth team.
What you bring
- Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in defence or security business development, corporate development, major-program capture or strategic growth, with demonstrated commercial results.
- Deep-rooted, active relationships with senior Canadian federal government stakeholders in defence, procurement, industrial policy and national security.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate both major-program pursuits and investment or acquisition opportunities, from screening and structuring through commercial execution.
- Strong working knowledge of Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy, Value Proposition (VP) framework, Indigenous participation and defence-industrial priorities.
- Success developing strategic partnerships, negotiating with primes and investors, producing credible business cases and engaging delivery teams after award or closing.
- Confident public speaker and trusted senior-level representative, with excellent executive writing, commercial judgment and discretion.
- Tech-forward and experienced with multiple AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or equivalents), research and CRM platforms; verifies outputs and safeguards sensitive information.
- Highly proactive, self-directed and comfortable making decisions in a fast-moving environment; available for frequent international and short-notice travel.
- Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Government of Canada personnel security clearance.
Additional assets
- Experience in Indigenous-led investment, capability integration, technology transfer, defence industrial development or allied-market expansion.
- Prior senior military, federal government or defence-prime experience; relevant education or equivalent professional experience.
What success looks like
- DNG Defence wins priority major-program work, closes well-screened strategic transactions and adds capability and long-term enterprise value.
- Awards and completed deals move into execution through documented, practical handovers; delivery teams understand scope, obligations, partner roles and commercial assumptions.
- The Director remains engaged with delivery and integration teams, testing whether capture strategies and partnership structures work in practice and adjusting future approaches.
- Senior federal relationships, effective collaboration with ITB/VP teams and a disciplined, qualified opportunity pipeline produce measurable growth and policy-aligned industrial outcomes.
Work environment and application
This high-autonomy role requires frequent national and international travel, short-notice mobility and cross-time-zone engagement. Progression to VP-level leadership may be possible, based on performance and business needs. Recruitment accommodations are available.
Apply: desnedhe.com/careers or directly on LinkedIn.
DNG Defence welcomes qualified applicants, including Indigenous professionals. Recruitment accommodations are available, and any employment preference follows policy and law.
